Customer Reviews

The Long and Short Of Hedge Funds: A Complete Guide to Hedge Fund Evaluation and Investing (Wiley Finance)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book was written in 2008 shortly after Bear Stearns collapsed, but before the fall of Lehman. It is a safe bet that the author did not anticipate the searing events of later in 2008, that have been the largest financial collapse in the US since the Great Depression.

It's probably so that hedge funds will continue to exist going forward. But the book already reads like it was from another time. As in "funds of funds are one of Wall Street's greatest inventions" [sic]. Yes, the book actually says that. Can you believe it?

The book explains the economics and functioning of fund of funds. But there is no serious quibble about the rationale for the very existence of these entities. Why should investors pay for another layer of fees? When the underlying hedge funds might already charge 2 and 20? The Madoff scandal exposed the sheer incompetence, if not wilful neglect, of some funds of funds, that did no due diligence but just collected a toll.

On the buy side: the book is fine for the novice who requires a preliminary framework for evaluating HFs. Those, who have spent more than 3 months in this space, will likely not find this book valuable.

On the sell side, for those PMs who are considering launching their own product, the book provides a very basic but concise outline on the required back office and third parties necessary to attract real (institutional) money. It will also prepare them for the basic questions that will be asked during preliminary due diligence.

Having read the authors book of Fundametals of Hedge Funds (which was very good), I looked forward to this book. However I was very disappointed. First it was very short (only 125 pages) and much of the book was a summary of his prior book. Finally what was new was repeated multiple times. I was hoping for more detail and i-depth analysis. And of course the author can not predict the market but the collapse of Lehman which took place two months after he wrapped up the book most likely would have changed his opinions and direction of the book.

If you're looking for in-depth information on hedge funds, how to evaluate them, and how and when to invest in them, pick up this book. This book is very complete in covering the subject, with lots of expert interviews, which really capture the essence of this often-misunderstood part of the investing world. Hedge funds got a bad rap in 2008, but this book explains why many investors should still consider them a crucial part of their portfolio strategy.